Frequently Asked Questions

Can I be notified when a new RFC is published? ¶

Yes. An announcement of each new RFC is sent to all members of the rfc-dist mailing list. You can subscribe and unsubscribe from this list at https://mailman.rfc-editor.org/mailman/listinfo/rfc-dist. There's also an RSS feed and Atom feed. Further information on document retrieval exists on the Download RFCs page.

How can one determine where in the Standards Track an RFC is? ¶

If the RFC is a Standards Track document, its info page will list its status (Internet Standard, Draft Standard, or Proposed Standard). See the full list of Internet Standards.

Note that there are also non-Standards Track statuses for RFCs: Experimental, Informational, Historic, and Best Current Practice (see RFC 2026).

Can the status of an RFC change after publication? ¶

Yes, the status of an RFC can change; this information is available in several locations including the RFC info page and RFC search results. For example, an RFC can be moved from Proposed Standard to Internet Standard (as described in RFC 6410) or from Informational to Historic. For a list of all RFCs that have changed status, please see the list of status changes.

May I reproduce or translate an RFC? ¶

All RFCs may be freely reproduced and translated (unmodified). See the IETF Trust Copyright FAQ for further information.

Who is the RFC Editor? ¶

The RFC Editor is no longer a single person; the editing and publication functions are performed by the RFC Production Center, which is a small group of professional editors.

Why is there sometimes a gap between RFC numbers? ¶

Occasionally, an RFC number is issued prior to publication to a document that does not get published as an RFC. This explains the occasional gap between numbers. Current procedures attempt to avoid this situation.